Bleach: Those were the days
by Snowmane
Summary: Snippets of child and teenhood moments of Bleach characters. Part 2: Kira angsts and worries about his Shinigami exams.
1. Chapter 1

**Byakuya: Fishy Friend**

As usual, characters do not belong to me. Although I wish they were.

I'm glad you stumbled across this page. This is the first part to my Bleach: Childhood Memories. This is not my first time writing a fanfic, although you may see my story list rather empty. I happen to be an extremely slow when posting stories, so I thought I might as well keep them in my files and continue ranting to the computer until today.

Well, anyway, I hope you enjoy this, and review after you have finished, even if it is a flame.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He awakes with a jolt. His brow is damp with sweat. Palms sweating, he kicks off his blanket and sprang up from his futon. He ran as fast as his little gait could carry him.

"Pitter-patter…pitter-patter…"

His footfalls are now rhythmic, never faltering. His heart slams against his ribcage, the hem of his kimono rode up and whipped against his calves. Breathing was a chore to him now, and he was driven purely by a premonition. Blood thudded in his ears, his destination seemed so far now.

"Byakuya-sama!"

He screeches to a halt, and turns around to face the source of the frantic cry. Foreboding escalated. His lungs were inflated now. The severe expression on his nanny's face could not have spelled trouble better. He suddenly felt light-headed, and his vision swam. He had to hold onto an oaken column for support.

"Byakuya-sama! Are you all right! Please don't frighten me! It was your mother just now, and now you…" Her frantic tone trailed off when she saw how distressed he looked.

"What is it? Tell me! Tell me now, Natsu!" His voice had a desperate edge to it, while navy eyes searched for his nanny's face, as though scrutinising would let him comprehend what was going on.

"Byakuya-sama…" Natsu started, and before she could finish, he bolted and headed for the backyard, where he knew something very bad was about to happen.

He stopped when he saw his father, his head bowed. And all of a sudden, tears flooded his eyes, blurring his vision. His feet dragged him beside his father, and he fell to his knees.

She still looked beautiful in her death. The pale gleam of pearl on her scales, streaked with strokes of gold and imprinted with blooms of orange. Her glazed eyes were wide open, staring at him glassily. He gathered her up in his small hands, tears flowing uncontrollably. His koi of eight years had died, and he was inconsolable. He felt his father's comforting hand on his shoulder, but still he cried.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 

**I hope this won't bore you out!**

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He walked along the corridors of the Shinigami academy, lost in his train of thoughts and wringing his hands as he moved. What if he didn't pass the exams to qualify for a Shinigami? What would his family think of him? And he had made a promise to his deceased mother and father that he'll become a successful Shinigami one day. He knew he had messed up the entire hollow-dummy exam. His hands perspired so much his blade almost slipped from his hands and the next moment he would get throttled by the hollow-dummy. He was sure Abarai-kun did much better than him, even though he was always the class clown.

"Well, at least Abarai-kun was much more braver than you when he face that hollow dummy." He thought dully, slowing his pace down to a drag, diverting his eyes to the nearby window, seeing Renji almost skipping away to find the petite girl who always had Abarai-kun's constant attention. He heard from Renji that she was his childhood friend, and they grew up together from the infamous 78th district of the Rukongai.

"Kira-kun!" A high-pitched female voice reached his ears which he immediately recognised.

"Ahh, Hina-" He was cut off short when he saw who was standing beside her. It was Ichimaru, vice-captain of the 5th division. He wasn't a face easy forget, not with his ivory-white hair, silt like eyes and his perpetual smile, which stayed slapped on his mouth when he adverted his gaze from Momo to a rather disconcerted Kira.

Hinamori didn't seem to notice how uneasy Kira was. "Kira-kun, I think you've met Ichimaru-fuku taichou here. He saved our lives, you know." Kira gave a big swallow, and smiled nervously. Of course he remembers, he killed a whole horde of hallows without even spilling a drop of sweat.

"Kira-kun?"

" Pardon me. I'm not really feeling well. I have to excuse myself, Hinamori and Ichimaru-fuku taichou." Kira stammered, all the while looking at his sandals.

"Ah what a pity! I was hoping that I could strike up an acquaintance with you, Kira Izuru." Ichimaru Gin spoke, his voice light and smooth.

He looked up in surprise, and as though reading his thoughts, Ichimaru told him " Well, Hinamori-chan here has told me a lot about you! She has spoke to me about your tremendous potential after I've told her about the approval of a seat at the fifth division , due to her excellent performance both in academics and leadership qualities. In fact, Aizen –taichou is considering the vice captain seat after I get promoted as a captain in the third division."

Hinamori flushed slightly at his words. "Ichimaru-fuku taichou, you think too highly of me. Kira-kun has been topping the class all the time."

Kira knew he should be happy with Hinamori securing a seat in the 5th division, regardless of her exam results. But instead, envy sowed a seed in his pit of his stomach, and with Ichimaru's words it catalysed into blooms of jealousy, licking at his gut and stealing his breath away. He worked harder than anyone, but his efforts did not seem to be recognised.

"That's great, Hinamori! I'm really glad for you!" Kira slipped on a façade of great happiness. Well, make that I am just a little bit glad because it isn't me who's going to be the next vice captain of the fifth division, a voice sounded in his head.

"Well, well, if that is true, Hinamori-chan, I would consider taking Kira as my vice captain, I'm in need of competent assistants, that is why I'm taking a trip down to the academy, to spot for potentials and ah, to reminisce." Ichimaru drawled, his grin getting bigger.

Silence followed after this, but not for long. "Well, I'll not keep you both from your talk. We'll meet again." And from there he waved, then strode off with his Shinigami robes billowing behind him.

**-END-**

**A/N: I'm sorry for the abrupt ending. I've never been good with endings. Well, Kira doesn't seem to be a guy who angst that much, and I'm sorry for reflecting a bit what I'm feeling now onto Kira. Year end exams are just around the corner, so….sweat drops. Anyway, I hope you've like this one. I promise I'll improve, so if you have any constructive cristicism for me, I'll be very happy if you would spend your time writing one. (But I don't mind nice words of encouragement, either. ) **


End file.
